


Midnight Meal

by bethany81707



Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon (Main Video Game Series), Pocket Monsters | Pokemon - All Media Types, Pocket Monsters: Sun & Moon | Pokemon Sun & Moon Versions
Genre: Body Image, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/M, Flash Fic, Past Abuse, Sun is called Erdrick
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-24
Updated: 2018-10-24
Packaged: 2019-08-06 19:24:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,000
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16393703
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bethany81707/pseuds/bethany81707
Summary: Lillie had become used to an unusual eating schedule under her mother's care, and when Erdrick finds out she's still on it, he sets out to figure out a way to help Lillie off it.





	Midnight Meal

Erdrick was jolted from a dream in which Lillie was preparing her photograph gallery to be unveiled, so at first he was uncertain as to where he was and why he was awoken. As his perception slowly came to unfurl itself, he noticed that someone was fiddling with the downstairs fridge, and his bed was conspicuously empty. His eyes dawned in horror, and he leaped out of bed and towards his gadgets… before turning to the sleeping Pokemon, and noticing not one of them seemed the least bit concerned about Lillie’s disappearance. Curious, Erdrick left the room, heading downstairs.

The fridge door was open, and the intruder was bowed down inside of it, hidden behind the door. Erdrick began taking deep breaths, trying to be sure he could react to anyone he met… but when Lillie’s head emerged from behind the barrier, a bar of chocolate in her mouth and some plastic wrap in her hand, he still found himself short on breath. The two found themselves awkwardly staring at one another, trying to figure out what the other was thinking.

“I’m so sorry for stealing food, Erdrick!” Lillie cried out at last, dropping the chocolate as she retreated into her arms and legs on the floor, the starts of sobs beginning to sound.

“Lils!” Erdrick called, shutting the fridge door and reaching for the chocolate as he sat down beside Lillie- only to find Pichu already nibbling at it. Erdrick shrugged and focused his attentions on Lillie.

“I’m sorry, Erdrick, I’m just so hungry…” Lillie sobbed. Erdrick sighed as he stroked her back comfortingly.

“I knew it, Lils. I knew you weren’t eating enough. I told you you could take more than you did,” Erdrick told her.

“But… but wouldn’t that make me not pretty?” Lillie asked. Erdrick blinked, vanity being the last motive Erdrick suspected, only for the true cause to be only a short mental leap.

“This is to do with Lusamine, isn’t it?” Erdrick asked. Lillie’s sobs stopped, as her mother’s name brought mental baggage of her own. Erdrick pulled Lillie onto his lap and kissed her on the forehead, trying to make sure Lillie felt as safe as possible.

“Mum… Mum was very particular about my diet. She didn’t like me eating too much, and told me it wasn’t very pretty for me to ask for more. Gladion always fetched me more after lights out. I guess the habit just stuck around, huh?” Lillie asked. Erdrick had long since tuned out the controlling nature of Lillie’s childhood- it was just a waste of energy to be horrified by this point, since Lusamine’s ways had been changed and the woman herself was being kept in Gladion’s care. But, as Erdrick had also long since learned, the experience had left many scars on Lillie’s psyche, and it wasn’t going to be a simple matter to even  _ isolate _ them all, let alone treat them. 

“Lillie, you’re always welcome to eat as much as you’d like at mealtimes here,” Erdrick started. The statement alone wasn’t going to fix the problem, but Lillie’s response would tell him what he could do to help.

“But I want to be pretty… don’t I?” Lillie asked. Figures Lillie would be hung up on his opinion.

“Lils… a few extra servings of dinner alone isn’t going to be a big deal. You might gain a bit more pudge, but not so much that you’ll look dramatically different.  _ It’s really no trouble _ ,” Erdrick assured her. He stroked her cheek as he did so, trying not to let his face fall as he felt the bone so close to her skin. It wouldn’t do to seem disappointed in her appearance now, it would just reinforce Lusamine’s half-baked idea-

“Are you sure?” Lillie asked. Erdrick winced- could Lillie tell? Would she take it the wrong way? Erdrick took his chances, and added his own personal opinion.

“Lillie… you look underfed. I think you’d be much prettier with a bit more cheek to pinch,” Erdrick told her. It dramatically undercut Lillie’s independence when she made a decision just for Erdrick’s benefit, especially when she was making guesses about the problem based on the biased teachings of her mother…

Erdrick loved Lillie. The fact she was so focused on being  _ his _ idea of a perfect girl was, in some juvenile ways, a compliment. But for the most part, it felt hollow, and he got pangs of guilt any time the idea of what Gladion would think of his sister being so… Erdrick hated the connotations of the word, but  _ broken _ by Lusamine. Sometimes, he wished he was better at fixing people, like he was when it came to his gadgets. Sometimes he just wished there was a set of instructions he could try, rather than having read every article and journal on the subject he could get his hands on and making slapdash assumptions on the spot from there.

“Erdrick? Are you all right?” Lillie asked. Erdrick sighed. He dozed off about the matter again. At least he could blame the time of day this time.

“Sorry about that…” Erdrick muttered.

“I’ll try to eat more. I’ll admit, it still feels wrong to eat at night like this…” Lillie told him.

“That’s my girl. Now hustle back up to bed, I’ll meet you in a bit,” Erdrick said, giving her a pat on the back as she ran upstairs. Pichu watched him in confusion as Erdrick pulled out his transceiver, opening one of the advanced options as he scrolled for Gladion’s number. Erdrick vaguely wondered whether Gladion still pinched food too as he read Gladion’s status a few times without really registering any of it. Pichu moved his transceiver before he could hit call, and Erdrick suddenly realised he was in no state to talk about Lillie’s eating habits regardless of what Gladion was doing. And that it was considered rude to call people so late at night anyway.

“Thanks, Pichu,” Erdrick mumbled as he headed upstairs after Lillie.


End file.
